Extrading guilty for rapes in Kosovo, as condition of negotiations

Nearly two decades after the war in Kosovo, despite numerous changes, some of the wounds remain open. But for one of its most difficult chapters, it only began in recent years. It is the rape of thousands of women and girls by Serbian forces and the silence that led to this painful aspect for years.

Balkan Affairs expert Shirley Clones Diogoodd has written a chapter for Kosovo in a book that brings cases of various world conflicts, where rape has been used as an instrument of genocide.

In an interview with Voice of America, she speaks of the shock she suffered when she learned of the size of this side of war and its complexity in a society where this war crime occurred in the conditions of a patriarchist society that stigmatifies rape as a disgrace to the wife and family and community.

Voice of America: Mrs. Diogudi, your chapter in the book “Gratte and genocide”, takes a detailed look at rape as weapons of war against women in Kosovo. First I wanted to know, what are your observations in this chapter about this painful aspect of war?

Shirley Chloe Diogudi: First of all, I wanted to say that this book and my chapter, entitled “, came at a very appropriate time. I started this process in 2014 about six months after I had read an excellent article by Kosovo journalist Hannah Mark and was finding out for the first time that rape as genocide in Kosovo was finally becoming part of public discussion. What I found is that from the UN's first convention against genocide in 1948 and until the 1994-1995 Bosnian War took place, thanks to international and local journalists, women's organisations in the context of the Bosnian war, rape was for the first time no longer considered a sideline going on in war, but was already considered a war crime. So it's about a 45-year-old ditch.

And then I asked myself why in the context of the Kosovo war, it was not given so much attention, at the time it was happening. There were several reasons, but one of the main reasons was that the international community was so focused on trying to find a solution between Serbia and Kosovo in Ramboullett, a solution for which I could possibly be one of the few people I could know Milosevic would not accept.

Attention was there, although several reports had emerged during the Serbian offensive in the summer of 1998, and especially from a doctor representing the UN Population Foundation that had warned everyone: “are not paying attention to the multiple rapes taking place in Kosovo”.

For these reasons at first we did not receive the information until the end of the war. But something else happened.

That reality was combined with another tragic reality, which I was unaware of and it was a culture of shame, honor of patriarchy, of a society dominated by men, that would deny the reality of rape and then reject victims.

Of course not all men do. I combined the traditional study with oral history and wanted to include the analysis of wise women we have throughout Kosovo, such as journalist Hannah Mark, who mentioned earlier, Nora Ahmetaj, who is a weighty researcher and works on human rights issues, Linda Gusia, who is sociologist at the University of Pristina, who gave me extraordinary information that was needed for me because I wanted to know what was happening on the ground, both rural and urban society.

Voice of America: This was a very painful element when you read about it in your chapter because the part that seems hard to deal with is that in such a crisis, when the country is in danger, the whole population is at risk, attention is not very focused on these issues. Do you think that's why even it was very difficult to deal with and the process of at least starting to accept that reality - the crimes that had occurred?

Shirley Chloe Diogudi: Yes, and that's why I think it's so important to admit now that Serbia was intent on killing all Albanians, men, women and children. But just as the paramilitary and military forces under Milosevic's control acted in Bosnia, they did the same in Kosovo. They separated the men from the women, took the men and the boys and killed them and raped women and girls. Rape is committed to gender, so it's time for the country to realize that the victimizing of this nature of women, it was a deliberate act to destroy society, and it's time to realize that these women were not just victims, they should be honored as survivors, and members of a resistance, and if there's something that's in my mind, it's when I see 'em, and I want to point again not all men do that rejection of women who survived rape and torture, men, families or their communities. This, in my eyes, conflicts with the essence of the Albanian world that I have known, are two different realities. In an Albanian world that recognises Cee, which recognizes religious tolerance -- that regardless of each Albanian goal of religion -- it cannot turn back on women within this process.

There can be no heights of male war victims, freedom fighters, and the women raped and tortured, and many of them were freedom fighters.

So it's time for the history of these women to become part of the history of war.

The other thing that shook me came from two sources. And it's not only that women's contribution was overlooked, or kept in shadow for the most part, but also that of some men. And there was a reason for this, because when the United Nations and the West entered, on the one hand the position of the woman was strengthened in the sense that it had in the public sphere, efforts were made for gender equality, a commitment to respect the European tradition that at least a third of the parliament should be women for example, there was an attempt to document the rape of women, but at the same time the international community was suppressing both women and men in their discussions of war. And what happened during this process was particularly the glorification of some KLA members and those they thought would follow the goals they had set.

The time has come, in my opinion, for Kosovo's population, regardless of everyone in the West to start this dialogue and continue beyond the point where we are today.

Voice of America: This is one of those issues where I think the need for political progress in a country's status is facing a thorny social issue. Has this become easier, over time?

Shirley Chloe Diogudi: Yes, in some ways, Kosovars can better answer that question. But in some ways, yes and we've had the effort since 2012 and there's been an effort by women from all parts of society that said “enough on”. We want those women who suffered rape and torture to be involved in the law for victims, for freedom fighters or veterans, to have support, compensation, and to have some success, which means that women who have been raped are integrated into the group of those who have the support of society. In 2014 it was the petition that circulated asking the United Nations to do something whose organization was conducted by former President Atifete Jahjaga. But as many as there are people who appreciate these achievements, and I am one of them, there are many others who can say it's a little late for the UN. They ruled from 1999 to 2008 and could have done the job, but while organizations that have helped women from occupation onward and have documented what happened to those who have been raped, who have helped them like Medica Kosova, the women's rehabilitation center, the Kosovo Network, that is, the ability to deal with it, now lies within the country.

But what continues to exist is the fear of many women speaking, and why is that? Because of the stigmatization of rape. Rape must be destigated. This is not a threat to manhood or family honor.

So it's time to recognize those women's pain and to be seen not only as victims but as people who made great contributions, as part of the resistance during the war. They did so much during the war and suffered so much, so it's time for their voice to be heard.

And I would also add that the other factor was downplaying the number of people who were allowed to be part of the negotiations process, and they were not given the opportunity by the international community to be part of the negotiations. I quote in the book Action Shehu who was executive director of Meica Kosova, who says a foreign ambassador had told “the women cannot be involved in discussions on Ahtisaari's plan because we do not want to offend the Albanian tradition”.

So again we have a combination of the international community's interest to suppress those who would challenge the final outcome for resolving the Albanian-Serbian conflict on the one hand and on the other, the continued stigmatism of women who had been raped.

Voice of America: You concluded the chapter saying no one was brought to justice and I wanted to know how important this is to establish justice in the country and bring a measure of peace to these women, their daughters and their nieces?

Shirley Chloe Diogudi: I think it's essential. I was surprised to learn only about 2014-2015 that there were only a few women who went before the International War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia who spoke of rape. The Kosovo government did not provide the same support as that of Bosnia. I was engaged in two of the main trials against Albanians in court, and neither was I aware of the women who had spoken there, so we must admit that to move forward, Kosovo's society as a whole should support the reopening of this issue. I have deep conviction that the responsible ones we all know who they are, who continue to live without problems in Serbia, must be sent to justice. This can be done, but it is necessary that women speak, should be no longer in a environment that causes them to fear, they must be exalted, they must be sustained, they must be known for their pain, their stories should be appreciated. I know we can secure the support of legal firms, especially in London, to go ahead with these issues, but we will have to face the decision of where the first process will be held. It may be in Kosovo, but it may be in Serbia. And will Serbia allow the extradition of the culprits? Had I been part of the negotiations, extradition of these criminals would be part of the conditions to continue negotiations between Pristina and Belgrade. Some of those involved were extradited, but in their trials, rape was not even mentioned. So for me this is the last chapter and we have to move it forward, but it will require intensive co-operation and support throughout Kosovo, both from women and men.

Voice of America: How were you involved in writing this chapter?

1. Shirley Chloe Diogood: Maybe I was meant to write it. A friend of mine, Selma Leydesdorf, who was head of the Department of Oral History at Amsterdam University, was asked to contribute to this book “Gratte and Genocide”. She is an expert on Bosnia and has written a book on the Srebrenica massacre for Bosnian women. She asked me to cooperate with the chapter on Kosovo. Finally, for personal reasons she withdrew, and the editor asked me to continue. I assure you, I couldn't have written this article if some of the women journalists in Kosovo hadn't started writing about the matter and turning it into a public matter. And that's when I thought, "God, since the first time I heard about this issue when I crossed the border in August 1999, I didn't know that perhaps as many as 20 thousand women were raped during the war”. Now was the right time.